Roccat Isku FX Keyboard Review

Conclusion

It's identical to the model we reviewed back in December 2011except you can now control the colour of the lighting. Everything we said then applies here. We could take the lazy route and just copy and paste our thoughts from there and pretend this was an entirely new review, but if Roccat haven't fixed any of the issues we felt were letting the original Isku down, then there is nothing new to be said about the majority of the Isku FX.

One of the keystones of OC3D, and the one that we believe makes you come to us for your hardware reviews, is that we're always honest with you, and know that your time is valuable. We know that you're not idiots and we're not going to insult your intelligence by forcing you to either read something you've already read, or regurgitating old content via the clipboard and pretending we're bringing you something new. Every word we write is freshly produced, which is more than can be said for the Isku FX.

So the lighting is new, we'll talk about that.

Strictly speaking the Isku FX has 16.7 million colours, but realistically you've got about 16 or so that are clearly identifiable as different shades. Watching the 'Color Flow' which cycles through every available colour, there are clearly a few places where the colour steps. All of the available options roughly boil down to dark, standard, and pale. Now it is unlikely that if you're buying this keyboard because you want a yellow one rather than the regulation red, green and blue options on the market, that you'll be upset it can only do lemon yellow, and not a slightly ripened honeydew melon. If you name a standard colour the Isku FX can replicate it well enough, but it's a bit granular.

The decision to use piano black, which is a fingerprint magnet, on a keyboard, a keyboard!, is still as baffling as it was 18 months ago. The fact that the keylock and profile indication LEDs as well as the Thumbster keys are stubbornly blue rather than adopting the colour of the rest of the keyboard is a bizarre decision at best. When you have a lovely colour perfectly suited to your own preferred hue, having three bright blue LEDs at each corner of the Isku FX somewhat spoils the effect.

That's the Roccat Isku FX then. Identical to the original Isku, with all the positives and flaws we first identified still present and correct, but now you can change the colour of the keys and pay an extra £15 for the privilege. Because the colour change is the only new feature, and the LEDs remain blue, we would suggest saving your money and sticking with the original, hence it only receives our OC3D Bronze award.

Thanks to Roccatfor supplying the Isku FX for review. Discuss your thoughts in the OC3D Forums.

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